Cuba is home to 12 million people, but just two of them, Yacob and Sarah Berezniak, are observant Jews. The Berezniaks devotedly serve the small congregation of the historic Adath Israel shul, hoping to breathe new life into a community diminished by the combined forces of Communism and assimilation. On their visit to the Berezniaks, Mishpacha’s Ari and Ari duo took in a mélange of sights, sounds, and experiences — from candy-throwing to aging cars to an unexpectedly adventurous quest for Cuban cholent.

January 1991. Saddam Hussein has invaded Kuwait. America prepares for Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait and defend its oil supply, building a coalition of countries around the world — including Arab regimes — against the “Butcher of Bagdad.” But Saddam has a secret method for cracking the coalition against him: he bombards Israel with Scud missiles. Twenty years later, memories of the sirens, the panic, the run for the sealed rooms — and the gratitude for salvation against the odds.

Ethel Baar could have been buried next to her dear friend, and her closest relatives contend this was indeed her final wish. However, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that Mrs. Baar should be cremated in accordance with her written will. The people responsible for the intense and prolonged effort to give Mrs. Baar, who died at 105, the dignity of a Jewish burial believe that increased awareness of end-of-life and postmortem issues can help spare others from suffering a similar fate.

“The Angel Rafael accompanies him,” proclaimed the Pshevorsker Rebbe about Dr. Shlomo Adler, Europe’s most famous Jewish physician. Those of us who never merited to meet Dr. Shlomo Adler while he was alive — as story after story emerges just a few short weeks after his petirah — are beginning to understand. London, and all of Europe, have lost an outstanding doctor. Am Yisrael has lost an outstanding Yid. Mishpacha pays tribute to this beloved healer of both bodies and souls.